The present invention relates generally to loaders and, more particularly, to a seat interlock system to prevent the boom structure from moving vertically when the operator of the loader has left the loader seat.
It has been found that seat interlock devices normally found in the automobile industry, such as those devices which are mounted within the seat cushions, did not provide sufficient sensitivity for use on a skid-steer loader. If the operator chose to sit on certain areas of the seat, such as at the extreme forward edge of the seat, such devices would not always be successful in detecting the presence of the operator on the seat. Similarly, other arrangements, including hinging the seat along either the forward or rearward edges of the seat, did not satisfactorily sense the presence of the operator on the seat.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a seat interlocking mechanism that would be capable of sensing the presence of an operator on the seat of a skid-steer loader, irrespective of where the operators weight is distributed on the seat. Such a seat interlock mechanism should be operable to render the boom structure inoperable for moving vertically relative to the frame of the loader.